Messages

91

Tools of the Trade / Re: Help with a sweaty actor

« on: Nov 02, 2012, 05:59 pm »

The thing to watch with Under Armor is that while it does pull the sweat away from the body, that wetness still has to go somewhere, which can lead to him looking even wetter than he is without.  We experienced this this summer during the show I was working on.  The Under Armor seemed to concentrate the sweat to the point where it looked almost as if the actor had wet his pants (for the shorts).  His shirt was just so thoroughly soaked that it just looked like it had been dyed darker uniformly all over.

92

Employment / Re: Touring Job posting

« on: Oct 27, 2012, 01:09 am »

Just a heads up that NETworks has had that listed on their website for quite a long time.  It's more a way for them to funnel resumes to one central place and does not really reflect any actual openings.  Of course, it never hurts to submit every now and then as you do never know when they might need to fill a position.

Edited to add: I just noticed that they actually posted this same request for resumes on Playbill today, so maybe they do actually have some positions to fill at this time.

93

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: flying rings - any suggestions?

« on: Oct 13, 2012, 11:02 pm »

I'm going to assume that the rings are part of his costume design/are essential to his character, since the obvious solution otherwise would be to just have him not wear them on stage.

In regards to the taping, are you just trying to tape them to his fingers?  If so, I would suggest actually wrapping some tape and or moleskin around the bottom of the ring itself to serve as a size adjustor.  If it fits more snugly on his finger it should lessen the chance of it sliding off and going flying.

94

The Green Room / Re: Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre is to close

« on: Oct 09, 2012, 11:34 am »

In one of the articles I read about this David Mirvish made a joke along the lines of "If I find I need a theater like the Princess of Wales again I'll just build a new one."  Crazily enough, from what I've heard from people who've worked with the Mirvish organization while he may have been chuckling while stating this, he probably actually meant it, and could easily afford to do so.

95

The Hardline / Re: Showcase Costume Fittings

« on: Oct 06, 2012, 06:20 pm »

That makes much more sense, Matthew, and I totally see what you mean now.  I admit I wasn't quite following you at first.

96

The Hardline / Re: Showcase Costume Fittings

« on: Oct 05, 2012, 11:11 pm »

Again, I think you are safe and sane in treating the showcase agreement of rehearsal hours to be the pool of hours all work must come out of . . . unless AEA says otherwise. 

That is how I've been treating it, which is where the director and I had a slight butting of heads.  Luckily we've been able to work out times for said fittings that make everyone happy, which is good since Equity still never called back with an official answer.  Until then I will hold to the stance that under the Showcase that fittings are included in the number of hours the actor can work in a day/week, and will continue to disagree with any directors who think otherwise.

And, for what it's worth, I've been on the TYA contract for much of the past four years where the span of day is very much spelled out and enforced, so that concept is very engrained in my brain for the time being.

97

The Hardline / Re: Showcase Costume Fittings

« on: Oct 04, 2012, 02:25 pm »

No response yet from Equity, but we were able to work out time within our days for the current fittings to be done, so no issue at the moment.

MarcieA is correct in terms of the span of day limitations, or lack thereof, as I had that question the last time I did Fringe (which was admittedly a few years ago now).  The reps at the time confirmed that the actual span of day had no limitation, it was just down to the number of allowable hours, and of course normal breaks, rest periods had to apply (i.e. meal break after five continuous hours, 12 hours between end of day and the next call, etc).

For now I've just been referencing the Off-Broadway rulebook for those questions which aren't spelled out in the Showcase Code when the reps drag their feet on getting back to me with an answer, making sure that I keep things in favor of the actors. 

I'll still let you know what Equity has to say once (if) the reps give me an official answer.

98

The Hardline / Showcase Costume Fittings

« on: Oct 02, 2012, 08:48 pm »

A question for those of you who have worked the Showcase Code here in NYC.  I'm trying to figure out what is allowed in terms of costume fittings, as there is nothing spelled out in the Code language itself.  The director does not want to give up rehearsal time to lose an actor to a fitting (as they pretty much never do).  Now under some contracts (I know for sure TYA, as that is the contract I've been working the most under the past few years) say that fittings must be part of the rehearsal hours for that day, and paid as such.  Others, such as the Off-Broadway (which I've been referencing the most for questions that are not spelled out in the very basic Showcase language) do allow for fittings outside of the rehearsal schedule, provided there are no break violations (i.e. should a fitting start at 9:00 then the actor must get a meal break no later than five hours from that point). 

What rules have others gone by in the past?  Obviously I'm putting in a call to Equity in the morning, but if somebody has done this recently it always helps to know ahead of time what Equity's previous stance has been.

Thanks in advance.

99

The Green Room / Re: Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre is to close

« on: Oct 01, 2012, 05:51 pm »

The winds of change are definitely blowing.  I remember in the early 90s in Cleveland we were constantly getting television ads for the Toronto production of The Phantom of the Opera.  I can still hear the tag-line in my head, "Buy Phantom by phone" said in an appropriately deep, Phantom-esque voice.  Of course that was the Pantages.  If I recall from the ads correctly (recognizing that it was now some 15 years ago, so the memories are hazy) Beauty and the Beast also had a fairly successful open run at the Princess of Wales in the 90s.

100

Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / Re: SCHEDULING: Making a rehearsal schedule for a musical

« on: Sep 29, 2012, 08:05 pm »

There really is no typical schedule in the professional world.  It's going to vary based on so many factors, from the way the design team works, to the limitations of the rehearsal space, to the type of contract the show is operating under (assuming you are dealing with Equity).  That being said, you will almost always find that music is taught before anything else, as there is little use attempting to stage or choreograph a number if the actors don't know it.

After that it's totally out the window based on how your creative team works.  I have been in situations where all numbers are choreographed first and then the blocking is done after that.  I've worked with directors who focus only on one act at a time and then put the two together during the final portion of the rehearsal period.  And there are times when you will be bouncing all over the place based on things such as conflicts, studio availability, etc.

I would definitely get input from your creative team.  The director, choreographer, and musical director are all going to have different ideas about who they need when and for how long.

101

The Green Room / Re: Relief from insomnia

« on: Sep 28, 2012, 11:47 am »

If you are worried about the side effects/dependency from over the counter products you can also try melatonin supplements.  It's a touch less likely to build a dependency on the medication since it's based on the chemical your body naturally produces to aid in regulating your sleep cycle.  As a chornic insomniac I have found melatonin supplements to be the easiest to transition off of once my sleep cycle has re-established itself (though I will also say they are less effective than some of the drugs in the OTC products, I've found melatonin to be more effective when I don't feel the need to immediately fall asleep, as it tended to ease me more slowly into the sleep cycle)

102

Tools of the Trade / Re: Free Stuff for Artists

« on: Sep 22, 2012, 01:06 am »

In New York City there is a great organization called Materials for the Arts that provides all kinds of supplies, from paint, to fabric, to furniture to non-profit arts organizations.  Definitely worth checking out if you are working for a non-profit company here in the city.  They also take donations, which is mainly how they keep operating.

http://www.mfta.org/home

103

Stage Management: Other / Re: Tosca Recording

« on: Sep 21, 2012, 02:42 pm »

Just be careful with the budget opera recordings.  Many of them have terrible sound quality.  A lot of the super cheap recordings come from live recordings taken from the house by just a handful of microphones and they often have a quality similar to bootlegs that were taken by somebody near the back sneaking out their portable cassette recorder.

Once you have an idea of which recording you want to reference I would suggest first checking your local library, as many opera recordings run on the expensive side.  On the bonus side, by checking with the conductor or company which recording they recommend the odds of them having a copy that you can borrow are pretty good as well.

104

Stage Management: Other / Re: Tosca Recording

« on: Sep 17, 2012, 09:43 am »

If you have any way of contacting the maestro who will be conducting your production I would ask them which recording they recommend.  They will usually have one in mind that will be similar to the tempos that they plan on using, which can vary wildly from recording to recording.

105

Tools of the Trade / Re: Looking for suggestions

« on: Sep 13, 2012, 03:15 pm »

Most of the laptops that are being branded as "ultrabooks" do tend to have full size keyboards (they are essentially the PC versions of the Macbook Air).  It's the "netbooks" (those tiny laptops that are usually around an 8" or so screen size) that have the teeny tiny keyboards, and those do indeed seem to be disappearing from stores as tablets become more and more prominent.